Witch Against the World
by SavageLollipop
Summary: Seventh year was their last year of fun before they would step beyond Hogwarts' gates of safety and out into the real world. They would be remembered forever. Well, that was the idea anyway.
1. The One with the Introductions

**Chapter One**

I looked out of my bedroom window and sighed. It was peaceful; no cars drove along the small street and only a few lights here and there illuminated the small, neat houses. It was quiet.

Too quiet.

I narrowed my eyes at the empty street and cursed the area for its lack of fun. I pulled the curtains across my window and went into the small ensuite bathroom that I shared with my sister Petunia. I looked around at the décor in disdain; I mean, who the hell chooses salmon paint for a bathroom? It's ridiculous; salmon is a fish not a colour.

Once I had finished brushing my teeth and hair, I pulled the blind across my bathroom window and went back into my bedroom. I sat on my bed and started to pull the curtains across my window when a movement caught my eye in the house next door.

It was James Potter; he was sitting on his bed talking to Sirius Black, his best friend. They were talking animatedly and James was waving his hands about wildly. I wondered what they could be discussing that made them look so… so serious. Just so we're clear, there is nothing serious about those boys. Nothing at all.

Just then James caught my eye and waved; Sirius turned around to see what James was grinning at and when he caught sight of me, a broad smile spread across his face. Consider the moment of seriousness broken, shattered all over the carpet. Well I assume it's on the carpet, I can't see James' floor from where I'm sitting.

When I realized I'd been staring at the boys for a few seconds too long, I waved and quickly closed the curtains. The pink curtains. Stupid Petunia and her stupid obsession with the various different shades of pink.

Being Lily Evans is not easy I tell you. James Potter my seasonal neighbour and occasional friend likes to make me very uncomfortable with all his date proposals and talk of love. I also have to practically babysit my friends otherwise they'd get arrested and my sister is a horse-faced, living nightmare. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just run away and live in a cave in the mountains. I could eat the fish I catch from the river and see out the rest of my days as a lonely spinster. I already reckon I'm going to end up alone and owning forty cats but that's okay because I like cats. Well actually I think they're evil but that's only because my dorm mates own the cat mafia and that's forever scarred my view of the feline race. I suppose I could be a crazy owl lady. That sounds good, although my house would resemble Hogwarts' owlery and I can't stand mess.

Well anyway back to the topic of discussion, James and I aren't exactly the best of friends. Let me just catch you up on the last six years.

**First Year**

James jumped out of his boat which was taking us to the castle, swam over and tried to get into mine. Let's just say the lake is cold.

Very cold. Although fighting off the Giant Squid is a great way to make friends.

**Second Year**

James wrote to my parents and asked for my hand in marriage. The audacity of the bloke, I've only known him two years and here he is already expecting me to marry him!

Men these days are always expecting so much.

But instead of laughing the whole thing off and saying yeah right, whatever mate, my parents thought it would be a fan-bloody-tastic idea to agree! So technically we're betrothed. Bloody parents, they thought it was hilarious when I came home for the Christmas holidays engaged.

**Third Year**

James, his friends (they called themselves the Marauders and the name kind of stuck), my friends and I played a game of truth or dare in the common room. We were sat in a circle by the armchairs. He was dared to kiss me and before I could so much as hide under a rock, James had shuffled over and pecked me very quickly on the lips. Well he was aiming for my cheek but I jerked my head to the side and he seriously misjudged it. There was a lot of blushing and teasing after that and he didn't speak to me for a week. It was so fast it can't really count as a first kiss but I still blame him for stealing it.

**Fourth Year**

James wrote a very erm detailed love letter describing my physical qualities and gave it to me in Transfiguration. He compared my hair to the 'luscious' red colour of roses, said my skin was as white as snow -I did actually take offence to that one, I mean he basically called me a vampire; it was a fantastic confidence boost, really- and complimented my 'sparkly emerald' eyes. Unfortunately for me, Professor McGonagall confiscated the note, which James had put glitter on by the way and read it out to the class. I was mortified and I very nearly almost spent the rest of my life with a paper bag over my head.

**Fifth Year**

James gave me a box of chocolates. I thought oh finally something I'll enjoy because hey, who doesn't love chocolate? He left them in a heart shaped box on my bed. I ate one and realized a little too late that they were coconut chocolates. Cue panic and attempted screaming because as fate would have it, just so happens I'm allergic to coconut. That little mistake cost me a week in the hospital wing and two months in the dog house for James.

**Sixth Year**

James thought he'd give me a pet –totally ignoring my owl Frank of course, love of my life he is- but James is not the smartest wizard alive. He found me a Niffler. Of all the animals, he got me a Niffler. Bloody brilliant, I tell you. And then, he put it in my bedroom so it could surprise me. Not only did I kill him, but so did all of my friends because we were all skint for the rest of the term and had to ration the Honeydukes chocolate.

We've not had the best experiences together. When I'm screaming at him for trying to charm fireworks to follow me around all day spelling out J.P + L.E, some people mistake this intense display of emotion as my deep hatred for the boy. I don't hate James and his miscreants at all, quite the opposite usually. It's just that I'm more cynical than anything. James goes around with his grand romantic gestures and orders a lily for every day he's ever loved me (which is by the way incredibly unoriginal and totally cliché because even though my name is Lily my favourite flowers are actually sunflowers) and it was entirely pointless because it didn't change the way I felt about him.

And just so we're clear, I don't hate romance because I'm bitter and alone. I want to straighten that out now, before you think I'm twisted and hate other people's happiness. I could get a boyfriend if I wanted to I just choose not to. My friend Abi was always on at me to find somebody. I'm only seventeen for christ-sake, who needs a partner now? I still have N.E.W.T's and other stuff to do and think about. Having a boyfriend is just way too much work and effort.

I heard a knock on the door downstairs and I paused, listening. There was another sharp knock. My parents won't be home until at least 12 and Petunia's off with her boyfriend the walrus. Who could it be?

"Liiiiiiiiiiily, oh Liiiiiiiiiiilyflower!" Okay scratch the last statement, it can only be one person.

"James Bloody Potter if that's you, then there will be dire consequences!" I shouted as I thumped down the stairs. Once in the hallway I flicked the light on and opened the front door. I groaned audibly because stood in my doorway were a suave James Potter and a roguish Sirius Black. Plus a large bouquet of lilies, hold the applause.

"Yes?" I sighed. James grinned, and ran a hand through his hair creating a windswept look. That's the style right now; you have to look as if you've just fallen off a broom. Sexiest look ever, honest.

He looked me up and down and smirked. I looked down quickly and realized that I was actually only wearing a very indecently short nightgown. I wasn't expecting company so I threw on one of my old ones! I blushed and ignored the fact that I was practically naked; until Sirius whistled appreciatively at me. I rolled my eyes and looked over at James expectantly, raising an eyebrow. Yeah, I've pretty much mastered that now.

"I wanted to visit you my love," James bowed and kissed my hand extravagantly. "Oh and these are for you," he handed me the flowers.

"Erm thanks love," I gingerly took the flowers and placed them on the table inside. "So err what can I do for you boys this fine evening?"

"Jamesiepoo wanted to see how his Lily was doing," Sirius grumbled, flicking James on the side of the head. I rolled my eyes.

"Lily is fine now go away."

"That's no way to talk to your future husband Lilykins!" James said, grinning. My jaw dropped even though I knew he was kidding. Well I hoped.

Husband? I don't think so. I find it hard to commit to the same toothbrush let alone a man.

"Don't even joke dude."

"Don't forget Prongs, we're talking to the Virgin Mary here," Sirius rolled his eyes. I couldn't help but blush. Like I said before, boys weren't my main concern. Doesn't mean I don't get a lot of stick for it. I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth to let out a string of bad language.

"Relax Lily," Sirius said with an easy smile. "We all know you're a commitmentphobe at heart."

"Says you, Mister All-my-relationships-are-based-around-how-much-sex -I-can-have-before-two-hours-are-up!" I smacked Sirius lightly on the arm. He crossed his arms in mock-anger and pouted.

"Actually my relationships are always deep and very emotional."

James and I burst out laughing. I was bent over, clutching my stomach from the pain but I still couldn't stop laughing and James had given up all hope and was currently rolling around on my lawn.

"Guys it's really not that funny," Sirius protested weakly.

I wiped tears from my eyes, "Sirius it's so untrue it's hilarious!" I choked out. He grinned and shrugged.

"Hey, I like to make sure there's enough Sirius to go round," he winked. James let out one last chuckle before he heaved himself up off the ground and wiped his eyes.

"Sorry Paddy," he croaked, "just too funny." Sirius just rolled his eyes and lightly punched his friend.

"So how long have you been at your great aunt's?" I directed this question at James in an attempt to steer the conversation away from relationships. James' great aunt Hilda lived next door to me and he and Sirius stayed with her for the last few nights every summer until we went back to school.

"We just got here this afternoon," he replied, looking down at his feet.

"Why so late?"

"Mum and Dad were only called out this morning so we had a few more days at home," James explained. His tone and face were suddenly sombre and I felt bad for him. His parents were Aurors so they were away quite a bit. But James had Sirius so he didn't get too lonely I suppose.

"Well listen boys this has been fun but I have important matters to attend to upstairs-" I stepped inside.

"What do you have a boy up there?" James demanded, coming towards me.

"Woah there," I said. "Why would I have a boy up there? You overestimate my seducing abilities good sir."

"What abilities?" Sirius joked.

I pointed at him, "bingo."

James smirked and came right up to my face, "I think you underestimate your abilities," he whispered in my ear. His breath tickled my cheek and I felt a blush claw its way up my face. My heart had just dropped down somewhere near my feet and my stomach was somewhere on the lawn.

"Well- I err- um- I think- well erm-" I stuttered, the blush just intensifying with every word I choked out. James winked and began to turn away, Sirius smirking at me as they did so. I swallowed and tried to compose myself.

"Oh and James; my favourite flowers are sunflowers," I said quickly. Cheap shot I know but I desperately tried to regain control of the situation. "Lilies smell funny." I closed the door and sighed in relief as I heard him shout.

"Seriously? After six years you choose to tell me this? Do you know how expensive lilies are?!"

Order has been restored.

"Oh Lily?" I stopped as I heard James call from outside. "I have a surprise for you tomorrow."

I grimaced and tried to ignore my heart which appeared to be attempting to escape from my chest. What just happened? James does stuff like that all the time and I've never actually blushed before. I shook my head; it's probably just hormones.

I stuck my finger through the bars of the cage which had my owl, Frank in, and he nipped it affectionately. I moved over and went into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face. I deliberately ignored the mirror above the sink because to look at how red my face was would probably end up killing me. I collapsed onto my bed with a groan.

Moving on from James Potter, I should probably tell you a little more about my group of friends. Or warn you. Both are viable.

My friends: Jess, Molly, Abi and Niki. Craziest bunch of nutters you will ever meet.

James' friends (who are also kind of my friends): Sirius, Remus and Peter. Freakiest group of weirdos you will ever come across.

We work though, kind of.

Let's start with Jess shall we, right well where to begin? Jessica Clarke is the small, bouncy blonde type (call her Jessica and she may actually bite you). She likes her pranks and she loves making things blow up, rather a specialty of hers actually. It's a worrying talent but she argues it's going to come in handy one day. She was on the quidditch team last year but had forgotten and never turned up to practice. She always made it to the games but I don't think James' –who had just gotten captain- heart could take much more of the stress, so he kicked her off. The resulting argument was not a pretty one. Jess is currently dating Remus which is a weird mix because Remus is Jess' polar opposite in every way.

Remus Lupin loves to read and unlike our other friends, he does all of his homework for all of his lessons. Although Remus is kind of quiet, he's a Marauder for a reason. He's good at doing the spell work in the majority of their pranks I'm told. Remus and I have been prefects since fifth year and were lucky enough to be paired with each other for rounds. Although I've been given the position of Head girl (I thought I was going to pass out when I received the letter) so he'll have to do rounds with whoever replaced me as a prefect. We also tend to sit in the Library a lot to study but Jess and Molly usually find a way to disturb our peace.

Molly Wood, she's a fun person; if you like crazy weirdos who eat strange Arabic jellybeans and are banned from several parts of the castle. Molly hates sports but isn't exactly what you would call an academic either. She and Jess are pretty much joined at the hip; they do absolutely everything together and most definitely share a brain. They both thoroughly enjoy blowing things up and Molly often thinks with her Gryffindor and not her head, which can lead to some sticky situations. Without Abi, Nicola and I thinking on our feet, Jess and Molly would probably be in Azkaban right now.

Abigail Bell is the sweetheart of our group. Now don't take that literally because she is most definitely not a sweetheart, it's just what other people who don't know us very well think. Abi is lovely but like me she has a bit of a temper on her and once you get her going, she really gets going. Lucky for us that's not often. She's very sporty –even though she won't admit it- and has a love of dance, quidditch and running. James and Abi –who is one of the Chasers on Gryffindor's team- can sit for hours and just plan out the Quidditch teams' strategy. Peter has had a cute, albeit kind of creepy crush on Abi since third year and likes to follow her around like a puppy.

Peter Pettigrew is pretty quiet but does have his funny moments. Unfortunately for him, he's used a lot in Jess and Molly's pranks, usually as a diversion. Peter's shining glory would have to be his talent at chess. No one can beat him, ever. Nicola is a fantastic chess player but not even she can win against him.

Nicola Johnson is like a miniature Hagrid, in all aspects. She's got outrageously bushy hair and has a horrible –and at times life threatening- love of magical creatures. The dangerous illegal ones to be exact. Now don't get me wrong, Nicola's incredibly intelligent but sometimes her empathy can stamp on her common sense and kill it just a little bit. Hagrid was giving a lesson on Blast-Ended Skrewts for the sixth years when we were in fourth year and the Skrewts started to kill each other off, once they began to get big. So Nicola decided to adopt one and tried to make us help her build a pen in the dorm for it. She even tried to carry it around in her backpack. It only lasted two weeks until someone gave Professor McGonagall an 'anonymous' tip off that Nik was hiding it and she took it back to Hagrid. It may or may not have been Sirius. In his defence, it singed the ends of his hair.

Sirius Black is most definitely the Hogwarts playboy. I don't think he's ever had a relationship which lasted more than a week. Sirius is clever but he spends most of his time picking up girls, so his classwork tends to take a backseat most of the time. That and he's incredibly self-obsessed. He has a comb for every day of the week! Personally my favourite is Arnold, the flowery pink Wednesday comb but that's a little beside the point.

Sirius and James have been practically inseparable since first year and (although Jess and Molly vehemently deny it) they are the reigning prank kings of Hogwarts. I do actually get on well with Sirius, despite our very obvious differences and his many flaws. That was a joke by the way.

And those are my bestest friends ever. We're pretty popular around Hogwarts, although in my opinion, not for all the right reasons. We're a tight-knit group and rely on each other for a lot.

My eyes were beginning to close and a haze had settled over my brain. It was obviously time to sleep but I jumped up quickly and ran to the calendar on my wall first. I searched for the date marked with the big red cross and grinned when my eyes found it. September 1st.

Tomorrow.

**A/N- Look! A new story! GASP. Ahem, sorry. Anyway, this is also posted on and you can check there for the rest of the story if you're impatient, I'm only 15 chapters in there (Pottergirl7 y'all). Otherwise I'll post a new chapter here every Saturday, although when we do eventually catch up on here it may be a little longer because I'm terrible at updating. So, enjoy, review, favourite, follow and I'll actually love you forever. **

**~Jess **


	2. The One with the Panty Heist

**Chapter Two**

"Lily! Get your lazy butt out of bed; you're going to be late!" I awoke to the sounds of my mother's yells. She's so polite that woman.

I settled back into my dreamland and was just beginning to fall asleep again.

"LILY!" Dammit.

"I'M COMING!" I shouted back, as I heaved myself out of bed and eyed the clock cautiously. I cursed myself for forgetting to set my alarm. I always remember and I can't think why I forgot to. I quickly pulled my bedcovers tight and straightened my pillows before making my way over to my desk. I undressed and carefully folded up my pyjamas, setting them down on the end of the newly made bed. I buttoned up my cream blouse and tucked it into the black skirt which I had hung over my chair the night before. I slipped on my cardigan and shoes and ran a brush through my hair before giving in and just tying it up.

Before going downstairs, I decided to quickly check my packing list. I grabbed it from my bedside table and opened my trunk and went down the piece of parchment, making sure everything was there. After making a quick trip to the bathroom, I took the stairs two at a time –almost died- and skipped into the kitchen.

"Do I smell bacon?" My dad asked eagerly, coming in behind me. My mum was at the stove with a frying pan in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.

"Yes you do, if you want some grab a plate," she replied, her eyes flicking over to the paper every few seconds. I looked curiously at whatever it was.

"What you got there mum?" I asked, getting a plate from the cupboard and sitting at the island with my dad. She waved dismissively and put the letter in her pocket.

"It's a note from Petunia. She's just wishing you… well, and a good year. She had to shoot off early this morning; you know wedding plans and all." I rolled my eyes and buttered some toast. I know exactly what Petunia wishes of me and it certainly isn't my wellbeing. When we were younger, Petunia and I were the best of friends but when I was accepted into Hogwarts she didn't think it was as cool as my parents did. I always thought that she was jealous but she told me she didn't care and labelled me as a freak. That's been my name ever since.

We have such a lovely relationship; we're always competing against each other for my parents' attention. When I came home and proudly informed my parents that I had gotten Head Girl; Petunia pushed past me and told them that she was engaged to Vernon Dursley, a whale of a man who was obsessed with the drill company he was working part time for, Grunnings.

Petunia has been engaged almost a year now and is constantly busy with wedding plans. It's scheduled for some time in April next year and I plan to stay as far away as possible.

The kitchen was silent, so to break it I poked the newspaper my dad was shielded behind.

"Yes Lily?" he asked in amusement, his head covered in thick, red hair appeared over the top. I shrugged and smiled.

"Nothin."

"Breakfast's served." Mum said, bringing the pan over and lowering bacon onto our plates. "Hurry up and eat Lil, you don't want to be late for your last year of school."

It hit me like a dull blow to the stomach. This is the last time I was going to Kings Cross Station. It was the last time I was going to board the Hogwarts Express. I would have to be a grown up, and live by myself, and feed myself and work-

I froze, mid-bacon.

"Lily you okay?" Dad asked in concern

I frowned. "Yeah, I just realized that this is the last time that I'll be getting on the Hogwarts Express on the 1st September," I replied in a sombre tone. Dad patted me on the back consolingly.

"It's okay Lil; it just means that soon you'll be moving onto bigger things." I chewed on my lip.

"What if I don't want to move on?"

"You will," Mum said. "You don't have to just now but when the time comes, you'll be ready enough."

"I hope so," I replied.

"It's all worth it in the end," she said, staring at Dad lovingly. I scowled at them as mum kissed him.

"Do you guys have to do that here? I mean it's a public place and all."

"Very funny, now go get finished up." Mum ordered, smiling a little. I quickly shovelled in the bacon and slice of toast and hurried upstairs. Just as I was packing a small handbag full of things for the train, mum yelled upstairs.

"Lily you're late! You'll have to apparate!" I looked at my alarm clock and swore very loudly. The clock read five to eleven. I grabbed Frank's cage with him in it and put him next to my trunk. I turned once on the spot before mum grabbed me out of nowhere. She pulled me into a bone-crushing hug and I blinked away my surprise.

"Lilyflower I'm so proud of you," she said, stroking my hair. "You're turning into such a wonderful young woman; I know you're going to do great things." I blinked away the tears which pricked my eyes and smiled into my mum's shoulder.

"I have to go now mum or I'm going to be late." Mum nodded and straightened my cardigan.

"You're going to be the best Head Girl Hogwarts has ever seen."

"Thanks mum." I gave her one last squeeze and then she released me and I held on tightly to my trunk. I turned around three times on the spot and focused intently on Kings Cross Station. It felt like I was being squeezed through a tight tube and my lungs felt like they were being compressed. Then the uncomfortable sensation was over and I sucked in a deep lungful of air. Before I crash landed behind the ticket office.

"OW!" I yelled as I was thrown into a group of bins. I stumbled to my feet when I was taken out by my heavy trunk, which for some reason had decided to follow me instead of staying by my side. "DAMMIT THAT HURT!"

"I thought I heard your sweet, melodious cursing." The smooth, suave voice of James Potter came from above. Where in the name of God's green Earth did he come from? "Need a hand?" He extended an arm just as my owl dropped from the air and a very surprised James managed to nimbly catch the cage just before it whacked him in the head.

Frank flapped around in an irritated manner and James put him on the floor, before lifting my trunk off my chest with ease. I couldn't help but stare a little at his bulging biceps as he freed me from my trunk. When did he suddenly fill out and stop being so gangly and awkward?

"I'm pretty sure three of my ribs just punctured my lung." I wheezed, accepting his offered hand and getting to my feet, his biceps forgotten as the pain kicked in.

"I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be allowed to apparate," he replied with a smirk. I blushed furiously and busied myself with locating my handbag amongst the bins.

"I was preoccupied." I snapped back, finally finding it and proceeding to drag my trunk towards the barrier. There was no point in getting a trolley; I was only a few metres away from the train.

"With what?" he asked, keeping up with me easily. We passed through the barrier and onto Platform 9¾. I didn't reply and instead looked around in awe, taking in the excited kids, the jealous younger siblings, the sad parents and last but not least, the scarlet engine. The Hogwarts Express. Even though I had been taking the same route to Hogwarts for seven years, it still amazed me. Sometimes it was hard to believe my life was real, that I was actually a witch.

"Here let me take that." James tried to take my trunk.

"I'm alright-"

"-No here let me-"

"I'm fine really James-"

"-It's no trouble." We pulled my trunk back and forth until I pulled with a little more force than necessary and it knocked me off my feet. I landed painfully on my butt and my breath left me. I brushed a few stray wisps of hair from my face and realized that my hair had come loose and was hanging down my back. I growled in frustration.

"Did you just growl?" James asked in amusement. I sat with my arms folded and my legs crossed in the middle of the platform.

I sniffed, "maybe."

"It's not very becoming."

"Your face isn't very becoming." I replied childishly.

"Now that's not very mature is it?"

"Your mum's not very mature."

"Well she is but that's neither here nor there." James commented lightly. He then picked me up and threw me over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. I let out an indignant squeak. This is ridiculous. I'm head girl, practically an adult. This is so undignified.

"James you prat, watch my skirt!" I said crossly, desperately trying to tug my skirt down to make sure I wasn't revealing more than my calves.

"JAMES CHARLUS POTTER YOU PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" I yelled, thumping his back. He charmed my trunk and still angry owl, to follow us. I didn't need to see his face to know that he was grinning.

"How do you know my middle name is Charlus?" James asked.

"Oh because I went into your dorm and- THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT! LET ME DOWN!" I blushed again and resumed my screaming. The whole dorm thing was a dare. A badly thought out dare, which ended with Abi hanging out of the window and Jess trying to pull her back. Never again.

I decided that if I remained good and quiet, then he may let me go.

But I'm a very impatient person. "You let me down right now!" I demanded mere seconds later. James shook his head.

"Nope," he replied boarding the train, and beginning to stride down the corridor looking for his friends no doubt. Suddenly I spotted a blonde wavy head somewhere near the end of the hallway.

"HELP! I'M BEING KIDNAPPED!" I screamed as loudly as possible. James almost dropped me in surprise.

Target acquired. Jess turned around in surprise and caught my eye. She raised her eyebrow at my predicament but I ignored it and urged her to come over.

"Ninja's assemble!" Jess shouted and suddenly we were surrounded by my friends.

Abi grinned devilishly and her light hazel eyes glinted. She emerged from a compartment next to us, wand aloft. Nicola strode down the corridor towards us, smirking. Her hair was frizzier than I remembered. Molly stood behind James, her hands on her hips and a smug grin on her face. Jess came at us from the opposite direction, beaming. James looked around wildly, realizing we were trapped.

"I'll blast my way out!" he threatened, shoving the hand that wasn't holding me, in his pocket.

"Looking for this?" Molly asked, twirling his wand in her fingers and grinning like a maniac.

"You little- how did you get that?" James asked incredulously. Jess smirked.

"Little thing called magic hon, you should try it."

"Damn," he muttered. Everyone seemed to have stuck their heads out of their compartment doors to watch the show. Fantastic. I'm making a great first impression as head girl.

"Well I shan't give up without a fight! I shan't surrender the beautiful Lily Evans to you demonic hags!" I rolled my eyes.

"Guys can we keep the noise down? People are starting to stare…" I was paid no attention to.

"Did you just call my girlfriend a demonic hag?" An amused Remus asked from the door of a compartment near us.

"Uh no- well maybe, but uh, she-" James spluttered. I sighed impatiently.

"Is anyone going to get me off this toe-rag's shoulder already? It's really very uncomfortable and I'm pretty sure I have a few broken ribs!" I exclaimed. They all looked up at me.

"Oh yeah, sorry Lils forgot you were up there." Niki replied sheepishly.

"Yeah, got a little caught up in the moment," Abi added.

"I didn't!" I remarked irritably as James carefully put me down. I rubbed my stomach and chest gingerly and then smoothed down my skirt and cardigan. "Ow, your shoulders hurt you know." I informed him.

"Sorry Lily Flower."

"Remmy!" Jess shouted, flinging herself at Remus and wrapping her arms round his neck. He put his face in her hair and smiled. I'm not sure whether it was being back on the ground the right way up or not but I started to feel a bit sick. Suddenly someone covered my eyes. Panic rose up in my chest until I recognized the overpowering minty aftershave.

"Hayden!" I said smiling and turning around. My tall, gingery friend stood before me. He enveloped me in a big hug and I held my breath. "It's been too long." He nodded, grinning. Hayden Spinner and I have been friends ever since second year. He's in Hufflepuff so we don't get to see each other a lot. And not once, in all the five years I've known him, has he changed his aftershave.

"I know Red, the holiday felt like a lifetime."

"Are we gonna find a compartment or do I have to stand here and watch Jess and Remus sucking face, Lily and Hayden flirting and James looking like he's gonna throw a rock at someone's face?" Abi asked bluntly, hands on hips. I looked over at James in surprise and noticed that he did in fact look rather stony faced.

"We're not flirting!" I exclaimed.

"It's the looks that do it," Sirius replied, coming out of the same compartment Remus had. Peter followed. I scowled at Sirius and he stuck his tongue out at me.

"Hey James, do you want to borrow my rock? His name is Andre," Molly asked, offering a rather large looking stone to James.

"I'm sure he doesn't want that." I said quickly, pushing Molly's arm back. That's the last thing we need. "Hayden you want to sit with us?" I asked, blushing slightly under Abi's watchful gaze. What was with all the blushing? I felt like a hormonal thirteen year old.

"Sure thing Red," he replied. We walked into the compartment and the Marauders followed.

"Where do you think you guys are going?" I asked, turning to face them.

"-Well that's my girlfriend." Remus pointed to Jess. "And also it was our compartment first." I raised an eyebrow at Remus and he put his hands up quickly in defence. "But you can have it!"

"-That's my secret lover." Sirius pointed to Peter by accident and we all turned to look at him. "I meant Molly," he amended hastily. Molly looked up at the mention of her name and then continued stroking her rock.

"-She's going to one day bear my children." Peter joked, gesturing to Abi. I swear she turned a slight greenish colour at the thought of bearing Peter Pettigrew's children. Poor dear, he was delusional.

My accusing gaze turned to James.

"Your excuse?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips. He floundered for a minute, and then smiled confidently.

"I have a way we can pass the time," he answered with a wink, slipping past me and into the compartment. I scowled at his back and forced myself to stay calm. God he could be so infuriating.

"I'm thinking we slip some laxatives into his drink and see what happens?" Jess asked, grinning at the thought of James Potter being stuck to the toilet for a few hours. Remus put his arm round her and smiled fondly. I will never understand their relationship.

We were just about to enter the compartment when I stopped and looked at Abi.

"Are you sure they have to come?" I whined, jerking my thumb back at the smirking Marauders. Abi put her hands on her hips.

"Yes Lily, the more the merrier," she replied.

*****"Wait, no," I said with a frown. "That's a false equivalency. More does not equal merry. If there were 2000 people in this compartment right now, would we be celebrating? No, we'd be suffocating."***** I replied irritably. Everyone looked at me oddly.

"What?" I said defensively. "It's true."

"Doesn't make it nice," Sirius muttered before stepping past me and settling into a seat.

I rolled my eyes and joined him. I sat down opposite Sirius and Hayden and James immediately sat either side of me. I feel like a hostage. There is so little room between us that I found myself pressed against both of them uncomfortably.

Nicola sat in the corner by the window next to James. Sirius, Molly, Abi and Peter occupied the seats opposite and Jess and Remus were left standing at the door.

"Oh well," Jess grinned saucily. "Now I have an excuse to sit on your lap," she said to Remus. He grinned but blushed a little. We all groaned as Jess sat on Remus who was on the floor by the window. He put his arms around her and they settled back comfortably.

"Oh guys, you don't mind if I let Beelzebub out right?" Jess asked, getting off of Remus, shoving Sirius out of the way and standing up on the seat to look for the cage. She pulled down a cat carrier and settled into Remus again. My eyes widened in fear as Jess opened the cage door and a white, fluffy head appeared.

The devil incarnate.

The cat slunk out of the cage and hissed at Sirius and Peter and then pounced onto Nicola's lap and curled into a ball. I gingerly tucked my legs underneath me and out of harm's way. That cat is evil. Pure evil.

"So go on then, what are we doing?" Abi asked leaning forward. Or she may have been leaning sideways away from Peter, who had snagged the window seat next to her. I reluctantly tore my eyes away from the devil cat and focussed on the group.

"Hold on," James said. He reached into his pocket and brought out a wrinkled and scrunched up piece of paper. He opened it out and quickly scanned it before looking over at me. "Lily don't forget we have to be at the prefect carriage at twelve." I frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean _we_?" I asked. He grinned.

"Oh didn't I tell you? I'm the new head boy." My eyes widened in both horror and surprise. "Isn't it great? I was so surprised when I found out but when I heard that you were head girl, I couldn't be happier." Happy was not the emotion which coursed through my veins and made me feel slightly ill. The amount of work I'm going to have to do. Of course James won't stick with it, he'll have fun for the first few days until he gets bored and I'll be forced to pick up the slack. I sighed.

"Yeah great," I replied thickly.

"Okay so… truth or dare!" James exclaimed, looking round at us excitedly. I shook my head.

"No!" I said firmly. "No, no no no no no!"

"Aw but Lily, it'll be fun," Abi pleaded.

"Count me out. These things always end in tears," I said wisely. Niki threw an apple at me. "Um ow?" She jolted Beelzebub slightly and the cat hissed before settling down again. I flinched and stared at the cat wearily until Niki spoke again.

"Dude, don't be a spoilsport. It's a harmless little game of truth or dare, what could go wrong?"

"Famous last words," I muttered irritably. They continued to stare at me so I sighed in defeat, "fine."

"Yay!" Molly clapped her hands. "Me first!"

"No I came up with it, me first!" James argued. Molly whipped out her wand and pointed it threateningly at his throat in one fluid motion.

"Me. First." James paled and leant back as far as possible in his seat.

"Got it," he squeaked. Molly grinned.

"Okay um," she looked around, eyeing each one of us. It felt like she was looking for signs of fear. Hayden recoiled and shifted as far back in his seat as it would allow. Then Molly's gaze stopped on someone.

"Peter truth or dare?" she asked, looking over at a now very sweaty Peter.

"Erm, uh… umm-"

"Pick one already Pete!" Sirius exclaimed. Peter's cheeks reddened.

"Dare!" he said quickly, evidently not thinking. No one in their right mind would accept a dare from Molly.

"Dude are you crazy?" Remus asked incredulously, voicing my thoughts. "You do realize you just accepted a dare from Molly right?"

"Oh no! No! No I take it back, truth! Truth!" Peter shouted hysterically. Molly smiled devilishly.

"Too late Petey. Now, what shall I make you do?" Molly tapped her chin thoughtfully and kept her eyes on Peter, drawing out his suffering. "Ah, I dare you to climb onto the roof of the train!" she announced, looking very pleased with herself.

"NO!" All of our voices echoed at once.

"Peter is not jumping out of the train," Abi said.

"I didn't say he had to jump out I said he had to jump on." Molly corrected.

"Still not happening," Niki said.

"Fine!" she said sulkily. Molly paused and then her face lit up again. Am I the only one who heard those warning sirens? "Steal a pair of Lindsey Greene's panties."

I shuddered.

I tried to think of something nice to say about Lindsey Greene but all I could come up with was that she has a nice figure. Lindsey is one of those Ravenclaws who should have been sorted into Slytherin but for some unknown reason, she wasn't. She is pretty and witty but sharp and mean as well. She has a pretty face but it's unfairly misleading. Lindsey's two friends are twins, Kelly and Shelly. They're intelligent and pretty but I always thought that they were afraid of Lindsey so they followed her around.

"I can't do that!" Peter replied in shock. "That's got to be crossing some sort of moral line."

"No I don't think so." Jess said, pretending to think. "So go on Pete, it'll be the first pair of female underwear you'll ever have held," she laughed.

"Like you've done better!" Peter shot back.

"Well I don't like to kiss and tell," Jess grinned. "But Rem and I don't just spend our time kissing." My face wrinkled up in disgust.

"That is horrible, why would you say that!" I groaned. Jess winked and snuggled into Remus.

"Moving on," Molly said firmly. "To make things a little fairer Pete you can take Lily along with you to help."

I smiled at Molly's kindness and then realized what she said. My smile vanished and I snapped my head up.

"What?" I shrieked. "No way! You know that girl hates me." I whined.

"But Lily if you think about it logically, Lindsey hates you right-" Jess said. I squinted suspiciously and nodded slowly, on the lookout for trickery.

"-And Peter doesn't have enough charm to get her panties by himself right-" Molly continued.

"I object to that-" Peter tried to interject.

"So logically, you're the perfect distraction!" Jess finished, ignoring Peter. I sighed. I had so been looking forward to sitting on the train and reading my new book.

"But I- he could- I mean why do- oh never mind! Fine I'll do it! You win!" I raised my hands in defeat.

Molly clapped her hands together happily. "Great, off you go then. We'll watch from the door." I groaned and wriggled out of the tight space and thick cloud of male testosterone I'd been subjected to for the last ten minutes.

I decided to be positive. Even though I feel like I'm walking to my death. I linked arms with a pale looking Peter and we skipped yellow-brick-road-style to the compartment of doom. From the door, Abi and Sirius gave us a thumbs up and winked. Gits.

Releasing Peter from my skipping death grip I started to formulate a plan.

"Okay Petey old pal, this may be our last ever mission so let's go out with a bang." I whispered, pushing him into the conveniently empty compartment next to the Beasts'.

"What do you mean our last mission?" he asked worry etched all over his face.

"If this plan fails and it might, we could die." I said seriously.

I wasn't exactly joking when I said it may be our last mission, considering that its Lindsey Greene's underwear we're about to steal.

"Okay, I'm going go in there and be friendly. I'll just smile and that should be enough for her to want me dead. Then, I'm going to run. There could possibly be a duel to the death I'm not quite sure yet so while I'm keeping them busy, you sneak in there in super stealth mode and snatch those panties. Holler if you need a hand." I instructed making the plan up as I went along. Impromptu is what I do best.

"Um okay," Peter said sounding unsure. "We should have a code word though. You know, in case I need help?"

"Good idea Pete I don't think the plan will work if you start yelling about how you can't find her panties." I thought for a minute. "How about… cheeseballs?"

"Like the crisps?" Peter grinned.

I nodded. "Okay; ready steady, let's go get us some panties!"

"Of the frilly variety I hope." Peter muttered under his breath. I don't think I was meant to hear that. Gross.

I crept out of the compartment and braced myself for impact. Taking a deep breath I slid open the door with a flourish.

"Lindsey? Oh this is your carriage?" I feigned surprise. "Goodness it's been so long since I've seen you! How are you girls?" Lindsey and the twins immediately stopped their conversation and stared up at me curiously.

Lindsey was taking up an entire seat because she had spread her legs along it, so I did the smart thing and picked her legs up then dropped them on the floor. Sitting down in the now vacated seat, I fluffed my hair and looked around smiling at the three very confused girls. I wanted to laugh so much but I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from giggling.

"So what are we chatting about? Oh Lindsey I meant to say, I love your jeans! They are absolutely gorgeous!" I gushed as if my heart depended on it. Lindsey looked at me as if I had just sprouted antennas and turned into a ladybug.

"Why are you looking at my legs?" she demanded. Trust Lindsey to take a compliment and horrifically twist it.

"I wasn't!" I amended hastily.

"Then how did you see my jeans?"

"Well I- erm well I wasn't- um-" I stumbled. "I was just making conversation."

"About my legs?"

"Well yes, it would appear so."

She grinned broadly, practically beamed. Cold shivers went down my back.

"Oh Evans, I didn't know you felt this way about me," she smirked.

"Felt- what- oh damn." Comprehension dawned on me slowly and painfully. "No! I do not feel that way about- oh God no-" She held a hand up.

"Please Evans don't embarrass yourself further. Just go," she smirked. My mouth opened and closed like a goldfish.

"I- wait, what? I-" I threw my hands up in defence and began gesticulating wildly. My wand flew out of my hand and rolled across the floor, coming to a stop at Shelly's feet. Lindsey and I both looked at one another before diving for my wand at the same time. I rolled across the floor and managed to grab it before Lindsey could. She reached out for it and succeeded in clawing Shelly's bare leg. Shelly howled in pain and whipped her legs up and onto the seat, accidentally kneeing Lindsey in the nose. My eyes widened and I jumped back and ran for the door.

"Holy cwap!" Lindsey shouted, clutching her bloody and suddenly swollen nose. Well at least she's angry. "You're so dead Evans!" Ah too angry. She got up and tried to throw herself at me but I dodged and almost fell into the twins. They also tried to grab at me but I scrambled up and bolted from the compartment, leaving behind what felt like a chunk of hair in Shelly's claws.

"EVANSTH GET BACK HERE!"

"I THINK NOT!" I shouted in response. I saw Peter in the other compartment and I gave him a hasty thumbs up as I passed. I flashed my hand to signify that he had five minutes before I gave into my doom.

A flash of green shot past me narrowly missing my shoulder. Holy shit she's really trying to kill me! I didn't think she meant I was dead _literally_.

"Impedimenta!" she screeched from behind me. I dived down onto the floor as it shot past where my head had been previously and rolled along the corridor.

"I said I'm sorry woman!" I yelled as I got back on my feet and continued running. "FORGIVE AND FORGET!" I looked around and realized I needed some support. "SOMEONE! ANYONE!" I stumbled and tripped over what looked like a bag. Landing on my shoulder, I managed to turn the fall into a roll and scrambled to my feet again, tears pricking my eyes.

"CHEESEBALLS! CHEESEBALLS!" I screamed, narrowly avoiding a small boy as he threw himself into a wall to avoid me. Suddenly I was joined by Jess and Niki, they ran alongside me.

"What's going on?" Nicola asked, deflecting a spell with a flick of her wand and shooting a wordless one over her shoulder.

"Where did you guys come from?" Nicola gave me look that said 'really, we're doing this now?' I grimaced. "Lindsey, legs, mistake, fight, DEATH!" I huffed, slowing down slightly. I was highly unfit. When this was over, if I made it out alive, I was definitely going to take Abi up on her offer of morning runs around the lake.

"Furnunculus!" Jess shouted but the spell missed Lindsey and the twins, instead shattering one of the sliding doors. "I really have to work on my aim," she muttered.

"Where are the others?" I asked. Jess and Nik shared a glance and looked at me.

"Well, Molly and Sirius are locked in the luggage compartment, Abi and Remus are trying to get them out and James and Hayden are trying to kill each other." Jess replied in one breath. "LEVICORPUS!" We glanced back and Jess punched the air as Shelly was blinded by a white light then strung up by her ankle and left behind.

"And you just left them? Never mind."

We were coming to the end of the train. "Guys we need a distraction." I panted. Damn them and their fitness, just because they played Quidditch.

Quidditch is a stupid sport. A very stupid sport.

"Leave it to me." Nik replied smiling. "Oppugno, oppugno!" she shouted a little too eagerly and blindfolds appeared on the two murderous girls' faces. They stopped so suddenly they fell over each other and landed in a heap on the floor.

"Quick in here," I said throwing myself into the compartment next to us. I crawled to a seat, panting heavily. "Oh hell," I muttered. Suddenly the door flew open and I was on my feet again instantly, wand pointed at the intruder. It was Peter and he was triumphantly holding up a pair of pink, lacy thongs.

"Got 'em!" he announced.

**A/N- Well, okay so don't kill me you lovely people who actually read this crap. I did mean to upload two weeks ago on Saturday, I really did. But well I'm a really awful person and forgot and then came up with a new story and planned it out and then got very sick (still am) and infected everyone, (sorry Mol) so it's been crazy y'all. But here is chapter two, so I hope you guys enjoy. I'll upload the next one just as soon as I'm done editing it (I swear I edit this story like every two months, I have serious insecurities about my writing abilities). And yes, the character Jess is pretty much based on me. A few of my friends are in here too, so give a hand to the wonderful people who lent me their personalities! **

**So thanks guys, review, favourite, follow and I'll send you cyber hugs! **

**~Jess**


	3. The One at the End of the Train Ride

**Chapter Three**

Twenty minutes later, we were stood in front of Professor McGonagall shaking in our leather shoes.

We had been marched down the train for all to see and then positioned in McGonagall's magically enlarged compartment for our berating. I'm literally numb. I had never ever been in trouble before. I was smart and I had always managed to avoid the blame. Totally ninja.

"What in the name of Godric were you doing?" she hissed; her normally thin lips now practically non-existent. Now that my dears is attractive. Take note and one day you may just be as sexy as McGonagall.

"Well," Molly began. "Sirius and I are totally innocent." I stared at her open-mouthed, as did everyone else in the room.

"And how did you arrive at that conclusion Ms Wood?" McGonagall asked irritably.

"Yeah how?" We all pitched in.

"We've been stuck in the luggage compartment for the past half an hour." she replied, a faint blush colouring her cheeks. Sirius gave McGonagall a saucy wink and grin, and then moved to put his arm around Molly.

"And what about these?" McGonagall demanded, brandishing the offending knickers.

"Oh Minnie those would look great on you." James grinned.

"Pink is so your colour." Sirius added. I grimaced as did McGonagall. Their attempt at humour was obviously not appreciated. I cleared my throat loudly and everyone turned to look at me.

"Erm Professor we really are very sorry for all the erm trouble we've caused." I said meekly. "We honestly didn't mean to…" I trailed off miserably. She looked at me and _glared_. I flinched and moved a little closer to James -who looked positively delighted- half expecting lasers to shoot from her eyeballs. It really wouldn't surprise me.

"You do realize Ms Evans, that not only have you demolished half the corridor," She turned her scary glare on Jess who crept a little closer to Remus. "But you have stolen a piece of private property, which we do not allow."

Abi gave a high pitched laugh. "Well Professor I should certainly hope not! But I must commend you on your professionalism at dealing with such an issue. This obviously shows what an amazing teacher you are, certainly a credit to your profession," she said in a voice so high only dogs could hear it. If there were any dogs on the train of course.

We held our breaths but McGonagall didn't even crack a smile.

"Not working Ms Bell." she replied sternly.

"Damn," Abi muttered.

McGonagall continued. "I'm not even going to touch on the physical fighting," she sent the evils James and Hayden's way. "And the worst of it is it was done by the head girl, head boy and three prefects!" I shrunk even further into the ground. "As a result of your despicable behaviour you will all be in detention until further notice." I gaped.

Not once have I had a detention. Ever. Even being friends with Jess and Molly I usually manage to get us out of it. And now my permanent record was marked. Scarred, blemished… destroyed. Now no employer would want me. I would never get a job which meant that I wouldn't have money for a home so I will become a beach hobo. Oh God…

"I think I see the light." I muttered. Niki looked at me.

"Lily come back. Don't go there Lily," she ordered. I felt everything beginning to fade and had the distinct feeling that I was falling.

That is until I was slapped hard around the face. I opened my eyes just in time to come crashing down on the floor.

"Bad Lily!" Abi said, her hand still raised.

I rubbed my cheek. "That hurt." Abi smiled in satisfaction and flexed her fingers.

"Next time grow a pair and take your detention like a man." she replied.

"Well if you're quite done with the theatrics Ms Evans, you are all dismissed." McGonagall said in a bored tone, ushering us out of her compartment.

We began walking back to our initial compartment and I was still numb from my punishment. I took in the excessive damage. There were scorch marks along the floor where some of the spells had hit and a compartment door was totally devoid of glass, hanging off its hinges. There was smashed glass absolutely everywhere. The whole place looked like it had been hit by a bomb.

"Damn, we did some damage," Jess noted mildly. I glared at her and Molly.

"This is your entire fault. You guys are the reason I now have detention until I'm fifty," I accused.

"Oh Lily you'll be fine. McGonagall will probably put you with Ol' Sluggy and he'll let you off." James assured me.

"What were you and Hayden doing trying to beat each other up?" I asked, curiosity overriding my annoyance. Molly and Jess looked at each other and grinned. "What?" I asked them. We'd all stopped outside of the compartment door.

"Well-" Jess began. I groaned. They were doing that strange twin thing again.

"-James likes you-" Molly said. I opened my mouth to argue but closed it again. I'd let them have this one.

"-And Hayden likes you-" Jess added. Eh- wait what? I furrowed my brow in confusion and looked over at Hayden who suddenly seemed to find his nails very interesting.

"-So it's logical that Hayden and James would feel an overwhelming amount of testosterone and a sudden urge to beat each other up." Molly finished. What was she on about?

"They were competing for your affection and the opportunity to mate with you," Niki added. "In the animal world it's perfectly natural; they're just establishing who has the power and who the more prominent male is. The alpha male if you like." I shuddered. I didn't like. I didn't like at all.

"Uh Red could I have a word?" Hayden asked suddenly. My eyes widened in surprise and I nodded slowly.

"Suuuuuure..." He glanced around at everyone, obviously wanting them to leave.

"_Privately_?"

"Oh okay then!" I waved the others on and Hayden and I began to walk back the way we came, whilst the guys went back into the compartment.

"So erm, well you know we've known each other for ages," he began. I nodded, wondering where this was going. "Well recently I've been feeling something a bit more than just friendship and I was wondering whether you'd consider us maybe becoming something more?" It came out all in one quick breath and he exhaled deeply afterwards. Not really the way I would want to be asked out.

I stopped and looked up at him, confused. That was out of the blue. What does he mean by _something more_? And how recently? We've always been friends, not especially close but close enough. I had never even thought of being a couple, I had never liked Hayden like that. Ever.

Oh God what was I supposed to say? He was looking at me expectantly…

"Um well… I guess one date wouldn't hurt?" I said awkwardly. He blushed.

"Well actually I meant more than just a date."

"Oh," Damn now what? Did I want to be in a relationship? With Hayden? "Well why don't we try out a date and erm see how we go?"

Hayden smiled. "Sounds great." I smiled weakly.

What could go wrong..?

After that extremely awkward conversation, we returned to the compartment and I joined Jess and Remus on the floor, whilst Hayden disappeared to go and find his other friends. I had a feeling he was just too shy to face my friends after they all found out that he liked me but I didn't say anything. To be perfectly honest I didn't want to face them either.

No one said anything about Hayden and instead we sat in a mostly comfortable silence aside from the odd "move over" and "Nicola get that god damned devil cat away from me". I read my book but couldn't really get into it because my mind kept going back to Hayden and how I was dreading seeing him again. That continued for about two hours before James and I silently made our way to the Prefect's carriage.

**A/N- Hello all, well you're all mighty welcome for this super speedy update (I'm joking). It only took me about ten minutes to do which was pretty good. Sorry for the really short chapter in comparison to the super long one last time but that was just the way it kind of worked. I know it's pretty boring and a bit of a filler but I would love reviews, follows and favourites all the same! Thanks guys, enjoy!**

**~Jess**


	4. The One with the Forkful of Reality

**Chapter Four**

After the disastrous prefects meeting in which McGonagall shot us daggers the entire time and we were forced to pair Remus up with Severus for rounds (Abi got off lightly with Amelia Bones), we spent the rest of the train ride catching up and eating sweets. We arrived at Hogwarts an hour later and by that time we were absolutely freezing. The rain was coming down as if there was no tomorrow and the thunder was so loud you could barely hear anything over it. The lightning flashed across the dark sky and it made for a rather dismal Welcome Back Feast. By the time we were inside, we were soaked to the bone.

We were seated at our house tables and Hayden shot me a grin before departing for the Hufflepuffs.

James was sitting opposite me and looking rather miserable. His lips were turned down at the corners and he looked as if someone had just stomped on his testicles; thoroughly pained. He had kept up that expression for the rest of the train ride and had opted to sit in the corner of the compartment in stony silence.

After the Sorting ceremony, Professor Dumbledore stood up and positioned himself behind his podium. It was a wonder he was still alive you know. I heard a rumour that he was 175 years old. I didn't think it was true but it was pretty believable.

His long white beard flowed to somewhere near his knees and he wore dark blue robes adorned with shiny gold stars. His long hat matched his robes. I want a shiny hat like that; maybe I should ask him where he buys his hats after dinner?

"Well I won't keep you from your dinner so, tuck in!"

Suddenly dishes upon dishes of marvellous looking food appeared on the tables and there was a rush to grab things. I helped myself to some roast chicken, potatoes, assorted vegetables and gravy. I swear those house elves are trying to fatten us up so they could eat us. Maybe there would be an elf revolution and we would be overthrown and enslaved. I didn't think I would like having to serve an elf; they kind of scared me with their overly large eyes and ears.

I was interrupted from my train of thought by a pea being thrown at my face. I blinked and tried to stare at the spot where the pea had hit me, going cross-eyed.

"Who did that?" All eyes looked at James. He grinned and I narrowed my eyes at him. I was just relieved to see him smiling again.

"Fine Potter, if that's how you want to play, game on."

I threw a carrot at him and it landed in his thick hair. James picked up one of his gravy soaked potatoes and lobbed it at my face. I ducked quickly and it hit Jess in the side of the head.

"You little git, you are in so much trouble!" she shouted, trying to get the gravy out of her hair. "Remus attack!"

Remus obediently grabbed some chicken and threw it at James who swerved and wacked heads with Sirius. Sirius fell backwards off the bench with a yelp, desperately groped for something to grab onto and succeeded in pulling the tablecloth, food and the brunette who was sat next to him down too.

"Ohmygod Sirius!" Molly shouted looking distraught. "My food!"

"Well hello there," Sirius said suavely, turning on his side and winking at the girl on the floor. Underneath all of the mashed potato, she blushed. I wasn't sure whether she was blushing or choking under the mountain of food she was buried in. Sirius stood up and pulled the girl up with him.

"Come with me, I'll take you back to my room and we'll get you all cleaned up," he smiled. The brunette blushed again and squealed to her friends as Sirius took her hand and pulled her out of the hall. I rolled my eyes.

"Merlin, how does he do that?" Peter asked in awe. Remus shook his head.

"He is a genius." Jess smacked him on the arm and Remus chuckled, flinging an arm around an irritated Jess. She was still trying to get the potato bits out of her blonde curls.

For the rest of dinner we played pea football, until the hall quietened and I swivelled around in my seat as Dumbledore stood at his podium again. Speech time.

"Welcome students new and old. I hope this year finds you all well and ready to further your magical education! Now just a few messages before I send you off to your warm beds. Mr Filch has comprised a very detailed list of the banned objects and you can find it outside of his office." Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled. "The Forbidden Forest is as the name suggests, forbidden. There will be no duelling done in the hallways or out of class." He looked at the Marauders. "And if anyone is caught selling O.W.L or N.E.W.T test papers, they will be severely punished.

"I would also like to introduce our new head girl and head boy, Lily Evans and James Potter!" James and I clumsily stood up and smiled at the applauding students before hastily sitting back down again. I turned my red and embarrassed face to Dumbledore in the hopes that he wouldn't talk about us again. Dumbledore paused, the smile slipping off of his face.

"And now I wish to address a very serious issue." The hall went deathly silent. "There is a wizard, who goes by the name of Lord Voldemort," there were a few gasps and the hall broke out in whispers. I caught Molly's eye and we exchanged confused glances.

"Some of you may know of him but I doubt many of you will." Dumbledore paused and looked around at us all gravely. "Lord Voldemort has been accused of murdering several muggles and one muggleborn but he has not been caught yet. He is not a major threat as of now but I can say nothing for the future. I am telling you this not to alarm you but to warn you. Look after yourselves and each other. I wish you all a safe and happy year." He smiled again, his eyes smiling as well as his mouth. "On that sombre note I think it's time for bed, Prefects if you will lead your houses to your respective common rooms."

The hall filled with chatter and laughter once again, the Lord person seemingly forgotten. I got up and found Gryffindor's fifth year Prefects.

"Can you two show the Gryffindors to the common room and help the first years?" I asked the boy and girl. They both nodded briskly and scurried off to the front of the horde of Gryffindors. I then turned to the girls. James, Peter and Remus had left and were already lost in the throng of students.

"So, what do you guys think?" I asked them, referring to Dumbledore's warning. Abi grimaced.

"Well if Dumbledore felt he had to mention it, this must be getting pretty serious."

"How come we didn't know about any of it?" Molly asked, motioning to the two of us.

"Well the Ministry have kept it pretty hushed up; they're heavily influencing the Prophet." Jess replied. She had connections with the Daily Prophet and often wrote columns for it.

"Well then how do you guys know?" Jess steered us towards the Hufflepuff common room instead of following the crowd of Gryffindors. I guessed we were on our way to the kitchens to scrounge some food considering Sirius was wearing most of it.

"Because you guys are muggleborns, you have no attachments to the Wizarding World aside from us and Hogwarts." Abi explained. "News travels fast through family, neighbours, gossip etc. and soon everyone knew about the murders although it wasn't published in the Prophet. Did you not hear anything in the muggle news?"

I frowned and shook my head. "They covered it up very well." I noted grimly.

"How come you guys didn't tell us?"

"No one really knows what to think. It's just been idle chatter at dinner parties and so on," Abi replied. "Things get embellished as they are passed on. What could have been one wizard accidently hurting a muggle can turn into a serial killer who is targeting muggles in the blink of an eye." I saw her point, after a while stories couldn't really be counted on anymore because parts of the truth were usually left out.

"Shouldn't they be warning people instead of covering everything up though?" It angered me to think that this freak would be kept quiet and thus allowed to hurt more people.

"Informing the masses could result in hysteria and panic, which is the last thing the Ministry want." Niki answered, tucking a dark curl behind her ear. "I imagine they just want to catch this guy before alerting anyone."

We reached the portrait of the pear and Jess stepped forward and tickled it. The portrait swung open to reveal a hive of activity. The minute we stepped through the doorway we were surrounded by a swarm of house elves, offering us various delicacies on shiny trays and platters.

"What can Misty do for you Miss'?" A female elf squeaked, looking up at us with her big brown, round eyes. She was very small and was wearing a purple tea cosy.

Jess turned to look at us. "What'll it be guys?"

"I'll have a hot chocolate please." I replied grimly. My appetite had disappeared.

"Same here please," Jess added. Nicola and Abi shook their heads, signifying that they weren't hungry.

"I'll have some hot chocolate as well please." Molly requested.

Misty nodded, curtseyed and then rushed off to get our hot chocolates. The girls and I made our way over to the counter in the corner of the huge kitchen and sat on the stools.

"So this Voldy guy," I began, determined to know as much as possible.

"Voldemort," Abi corrected. "But most people call him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Why not call him by his name?" I asked confused.

"I don't know I'm just passing along information." Abi shrugged.

"Well anyway," I continued impatiently. "Are the Ministry actually looking for him?"

"I should think so," Jess answered frowning. "He doesn't appear to be a terribly large threat at the moment but like Dumbledore said, we can say nothing for the future."

"Your hot chocolates Miss." Misty returned with three large mugs, brimming with hot chocolate, whipped cream and marshmallows; the whole shebang. We thanked the elf and began to sip our drinks.

"Do you think it'll ever get really bad?" I whispered. Nicola put a consoling hand on my shoulder.

"Dude we have Dumbledore on our side, there's nothing he can't handle."

"I suppose you're right."

**A/N- Ohmygod look at me, doing all these chapters in like one night! Be proud my lovelies! Anyway please review, favourite and or follow because I truly appreciate each and every email I get telling me that someone has liked this enough to tell me about it. Thanks everyone.**

**~Jess**


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